Looking for a motherboard and GPU for i5-4670k

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firefreezer

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Nov 27, 2013
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Hi community

This is my first post here.

Ive been looking to build a gaming rig(1920*1080 res) and i went through a few posts for CPU and graphic cards to decide on these. I wont be doing any video rendering or other heavy stuff.

1. CPU - i5 4670k ($200). I plan to overclock.
2. GPU - either GTX 780($500) or R9 290($450) - i have no clue which one is better and which company one to buy? asus msi gigabyte evga? help here plz with reasons as to why you prefer a specific one. Also i might go for multiple card setup in future.
3. Mobo - What i know is that i need a 1150 socket z87 motherboard. I want to put in a SSD so i need 1 SATA 6.0Gb/s and need PCI 3.0x16 for graphic card. How much do external wifi cards cost or should i buy a mobo which has wifi already? Now i see these are priced between $100-$200 and i compared them but dont really see much difference. Can anyone point out which one would be the best for the requirements decribed above. also which form factor to go for? Please specify reasons because i am skeptical guy.

Thanks
 
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1. Good choice I just hope you have a CPU cooler that you haven't mentioned otherwise you won't really be able to OC because the temps will get too high.

2. Here are some comparison benchmarks to help you decide between the 780and 290 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1036?vs=1068. As for which company within each option generally people like companies like asus, gigabyte, and MSI. Basically they each will have their own custom coolers and overclocks already applied to them. If you are overclocking it yourself just get the cheapest of the custom models. Asus tends to be cooled the best, gigabyte is usually the highest clock rate out of the box, and MSI is kind of in the middle. Typically the 780s run cooler so that can make multi...
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Jameson Clark

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1. Good choice I just hope you have a CPU cooler that you haven't mentioned otherwise you won't really be able to OC because the temps will get too high.

2. Here are some comparison benchmarks to help you decide between the 780and 290 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1036?vs=1068. As for which company within each option generally people like companies like asus, gigabyte, and MSI. Basically they each will have their own custom coolers and overclocks already applied to them. If you are overclocking it yourself just get the cheapest of the custom models. Asus tends to be cooled the best, gigabyte is usually the highest clock rate out of the box, and MSI is kind of in the middle. Typically the 780s run cooler so that can make multi card setups in the future easier.

3. Every z87 mobo is socket 1150, has multiple sata 3 6 gb/s slots, and PCIe slots. I am unsure how much you would have to pay for an external wifi card but I would consider it convenient to find a mobo that comes with one. Motherboards are probably the most difficult part of choosing a build. A lot of times you are paying a higher price for no additional features but higher quality components. A good cheaper board is the Asrock extreme 4. If you are looking for one with a wifi card though the asus p8z87-v pro is a good option. Also I prefer an ATX mobo in a mid tower case since you get pretty much the most features on ATX mobos and mid towers are big enough to have good airflow but aren't insanely big to get in the way.
 
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firefreezer

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Nov 27, 2013
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Thanks a lot for this. A few more questions.

1. Yes i would get an aftermarket cooler. I did not mention it as that component is cheaper and easier to choose. Focus is on the most important ones now.


2. The benchmark shows that 290 beats the 780 almost everywhere and the card is almost $50 cheaper :O. Also when ddof and msaa is present the nvidia card performs better. wont the games look rubbish with multi sampling off? Also i didnt know you could overclock gpu's too. if yes then will me an average guy be able to do it? Also do you suggest any other cards? my original budget was around $350 but as i want it to last atleast 2-3 years i am flexible to go upto $450-500.

3. I read in a few posts that Asus hero series motherboards are best for overclocking. Will the asrock mobo able to overclock cpu and gpu both? is RAM also overclockable?

ATX board it is. I was just unsure if i need the 6-7 PCI slots in ATX vs the 3-4 present in mATX. other than these is there any difference in the form factor?
 
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Jameson Clark

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1. Ok cool pretty much the unanimous low cost CPU cooler is the hyper 212 evo by cooler master.

2. Yeah but the difference isn't vastly different the cards are very competitive so if you have no brand loyalties the cheaper option could be the best. Some people will say that nvidia has better quicker drivers and less power and heat production as added benefits to help offset the higher price and slightly lower stock performance. As for mssa and stuff the higher the resolution the less important it is but of course it can be a nice visual upgrade. It is very taxing on the gpu though so in some cases performance decreases but the 780 and 290 should handle it well.

As for gpu overclocks it is probably the easiest overclock to do. Whichever card you get will most likely come with its own OC software but if not there are plenty of free ones out there for download such as MSI afterburner. Ram is also overclock able but you won't really be able to see any difference except in synthetic benchmarks. As for other cards I personally have a 770 that I am very happy with but if you have the money to spend on a 290/780 it's not a competition really. The only other card I could suggest with your budget would possibly be a 290x, it has very slight performance upgrade over the 290.

3. Yes the asus hero boards are great OC boards but the Asrock extreme 4 I mentioned is also good. Pretty much any mobo by Asrock, asus, gigabyte, and MSI that costs over $140 is a good OC board. The "Z" designation in z87 mobos means that it is set up for CPU overclocking. The mobo doesn't matter when it comes to gpu overclocking and they all can OC ram.

The more PCI lanes the better since you are considering multi cards in the future. As for other difference between form factor it really varies, each board will have different features and number of ports so you can't say ATX has this but matx doesn't. ATX has more room for more features and ports though.
 
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firefreezer

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2. Dont have any loyalties yet as this is my first rig. Just want to make an informed decision and get the best bang for the money. the 290x is certainly out of budget, its around $600 which is an overkill. my initial budge was around $350 only but i have a knack of trying to buy things from a long term perspective, so i am going for the $450-500 cards. I am from india where $100 mean 6000rs which is a significantly large amount :p.

3. Ok so to future proof stuff i choose ATX, i hope i get to use all the ports. Currently i think 1 PCI slot for GPU and 2 SATA 3.0 would be used for SSD and HD. Not sure if i will do SLI in future or just buy a better card. I think after 3years the tech change can just turn everything around also, very unpredictable. I cant think of anything else or any use of the extra ports? Also i checked i can get a usb wifi in less than $20 so i think better to get a non wifi mobo.
 
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EdwardElric

EdwardElric

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wifi on mobo's is a top end feature so you won't be able to afford a £300+ mobo. I would take time and really think about how much you are willing to spend on this gaming rig. take into account that buying OS,keyboard,mouse can add up quikly over your budget. no solution just a mind set you should have.
 
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firefreezer

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Well the budget is flexible. I dont mind spending $50 more today if it extends the life of my system by 6 months. Wifi doesnt seem a big issue as PCIe cards for as low as $15 are available and my empty slots will have some usage. Any other feature that i can add to the extra SATA and PCIe slots?
 
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